Pipeline transport is defined as the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquid and gases are sent through the pipeline(s), but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air have also been used. As for gases and liquids, any chemically stable substance can be sent through a pipeline. Therefore sewage, slurry, water, or even alcoholic beverage pipelines exist; but arguably the most important in terms of value and commerce are those transporting fluid and natural gas.
Pipelines are generally the most economical way to transport large quantities of fluid or natural gas over land or via water and/or subsea. Compared to railroad, pipelines provide lower cost per unit and also higher capacity transport. Although pipelines can be built under the sea, that process is both economically and technically very demanding, so the majority of fluid transported at sea is by tanker ships.
Fluid pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes with inner diameters ranging from roughly 30 to 120 cm (about 12 to 47 inches). Where possible, these pipelines are built and provided above water surfaces. However, in more developed, urban, environmentally sensitive or potentially dangerous areas, pipelines are buried underground at a typical depth of about 1.3-1.6 meters (about 3 feet). The fluid is kept in motion by a system of pump stations built along the pipeline and usually flows at speed of about 1 to 6 m/s″ (excerpted from Wikipedia® “Pipeline Transport”).
Today, more than 200,000 miles of fluid pipeline criss-cross the continental United States as reported in the article; http://www.api.org/ehs/performance/transportation/moretransportation.cfm entitled, More on Fluid and Natural Gas Transport, Energy API, Aug. 31, 2006). Significantly more miles of pipeline exist worldwide.
In order to continue production, wellbores, pipelines, and control structures need to remain intact against threats or acts of sabotage, severe weather or fires. Acts of sabotage are so frequent that at least one publication in the fluid industry is dedicated to identifying each attack—see www.iags.org/iraqpipelinewatch.htm]. From June 2003 through May 28, 2007, the LAGS Energy Security newsletter (Jun. 1, 2007) listed 435 incidents of sabotage, ranging from rocket propelled grenades fired on fluid installations to finding pipeline security officers killed while on duty with no resultant damage to the pipelines. Even disused (non-producing wells) are the subject of attack and arson. These acts of sabotage are not just in Iraq, but throughout the world, and the list continues to grow.
Blastgard International reported in their Dec. 6, 2004 news release that “BlastGard's CEO Jim Gordon added “Between August and October, Iraq lost $7 billion dollars in potential revenue due to sabotage against the country's fluid infrastructure, according to Assem Jihad, spokesman of the Fluid Ministry. An estimated 20 fluid wells and pipelines were bombed or set ablaze this month in northern Iraq alone and Kirkuk pipelines and wells have been attacked at least 74 times since the collapse of Saddam's regime.”—see—www.blastgardintl.com/press/pr 120604.asp “The pipeline industry and the petroleum industry have been conducting informational briefings on how pipeline systems function to ensure that government agencies and intelligence personnel understand the services provided, the potential risks and vulnerabilities, and what pipeline operators are doing to improve security”—see http://www.api.org/aboutfluidgas/sectors/pipeline/securitypreparedness.cfm, Pipeline Security Preparedness, Energy API, Sep. 30, 2006.
The clear message of the previous paragraphs shows the cost of damage to fluid pipelines in terms of manpower, production lost, and resulting cost to repair each area of damage.
Additionally the weather has a significant impact on damage to fluid infrastructures and fluid production. In a report published in Pure Energy Systems News, dated Sep. 11, 2005 titled, Update on Hurricane Katrina's Damage to the Gulf Fluid Patch, by Paul Noel, the author states, “The reports officially are that something like 150 rigs are severely damaged though at least 500 have yet to be evaluated as of this time. 36 rigs are sunk and several are floating free, having broken moorings, etcetera”. Adding, “The rigs are probably the best of the news. Financial sources say that the 33,000 miles of undersea pipelines may be in real trouble”.
As recently as Jun. 29, 2007 the following report was carried on MSNBC.com., titled Worst 3 months for U.S. in Iraq since war began, Associated Press “In other developments, Iraqi police said a bomb exploded under an fluid pipeline south of Baghdad on Friday, spilling crude fluid and sparking a huge fire. The explosives were planted under a stretch of pipeline in the Mowehlah area of Haswa, a town 30 miles south of the Iraqi capital, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. The pipeline transmits crude fluid from Iraq's southern fluid fields to the Dora refinery in Baghdad. The blast ignited a huge fire around 5 a.m., the officer said. By midday, firefighters were still struggling to extinguish the flames, which were fueled by a continuing leak of fluid from the pipeline, he said. Workers also were looking for a way to temporarily cut off the fluid flow, until a repair could be made, the officer added.”
Therefore, there is a need for a hydroelectric control valve (HCV) for pipelines to selectively regulate, control and shut off the fluid flow in the pipelines if damaged or destroyed thereby saving desired fluids for production, minimizing fluid losses, eliminating hydrocarbons as a fuel source where there is fire and potentially saving many lives and reducing costs. Similarly, an HCV can be installed just below the surface of a wellbore with a radio receiver and encrypted coding in order that the HCV can be shut off remotely (including from the surface) in the event of terrorist attacks or any surface damage to Christmas tree valving. In petroleum and natural gas extraction, a Christmas tree, or “Tree”, (not “Wellhead” as it is sometimes incorrectly referred to) is an assembly of valves, spools, and fittings, used for an oil well, gas well, water injection well, water disposal well, gas injection well, condensate well and other types of wells. The name is derived from the crude resemblance to a decorated tree.